Geophones



July 8, 1 958 GEOPHONES Filed Aug. 12, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l 2 a: v flflffi MM 47 /K// a 0. f/ 9 1 9 2 :w 3 2 2 2 0 9 522 2 1 m mm a w g 4 fl fi 1 H v m 4 A a a -7 w 4. J M 2 5 m w EM 5 VH N WU m N r M I E 1 M w M Z 5 a 7 6 N. I 5 W 7 3 5 2 9 Ma July 8, 1958 I w. M. JONES 2,842,752 I GEOPHONES Filed Aug. 12, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I, 1 I M l6 27 L 40 INVENTOR.

WILL/AM Ma/wcmo/v JbNEs A T TORNEYS.

. tGEOPHONES William -Melancthon Jones, TN'ottingham, England, assi'g'niir "to The "British "Petroleum Company limited Application August 12, 1954, Serial No. 449 300 7 Claims priority, applicationfGreat'Britain "SepteniBerW, 1953 p *9tGlaimst :(CL' 5340 -117) L for the greatest -acc-uracy inamplitude andlphase'response to; groundvibra'tions of=-higher frequency. :zA coil suspensionin thejusual form 'of:a"-helical'- spring: becomes very along-when its naturallifrequency is reduced andwso :increases the size and Weight-of: the :instrument. 'lniaddi- :.tion, a device to centre the coil- -in the annular .gapa-of ithe ma'gnet 'is required which: increases the complication ot-the instrument and als'oadds stiffness: to .wthermain spring which then requires corresponding increasez in Arrangements have recently been shown in which/the V coil is suspended :bymeansof leaf springs-tbut-in such in I struments the-difiiculty has been to lcombine compactness sand lightness with-sensitivity?and a,l-good low frequency response. It has-:also-been'difiicult to providethe zneces- :sary stiffness of the suspension -in --a. .horizontal direction Without the use .of acenteringdeviceefor zthecoil. i

. n The principal object. of the present invention.-.is,etherel"fore,-to;,provide:a field-geophone of ar-lownatural"fre- -quency,-that is tosay belowabout4.:c../s.,..to record. the

vertical component of. ground vibration, .in which-the "fu'nctionsof a short suspension and .thecenteringsdeyice are combined in such a way-as to produce an instrument which is considerably smaller andlighter, .and which has simpler imeans of initial adjustment, lthan. .geophones I commonly in use 'a't'the present time; F I Accordingto the invention; there is provided a-moving.

'coil' geophone wherein" the coil is concentricallysuspended an annular magnetic airgap in a magnet by means of a vs'i'ugle leaf spring maintained in aflexed condition 'by g In'ea'ns 'c-f'an' inertia' mass;thefsuspensionbeing such that the' coilhas*freedornioftnovemeht only in'fth'e direction of the axis of the airgap.

"According to a"'pr'efe'rr'ed' form of construction; the 'geophone"con1prisesa permanent magnetformed with :an' anr'rular magnetic airg'apithe axis "of which isfverticfal V in theposition' of-use"ofthege'ophone; aiicoihanfinertia V masssecured to the coil, a lever arm'secured atone'end .f td the finertia m'assand at the "other'erid to a'single flat near spring-which is alsosecured relatively to the perm-af itedsttes Patent Patented July s,. 1958 nent :magnet, the leafspring being maintained by the Weight of the inertiarmass' in apflexed conditionsuch that the coil is .concentrically suspended ;in the annular airgap in which it.is free to-oscillate inta verticaldirection only.

Preferably, the. degree :to which theleafispring lisaflexed is such that thematunahfrequencynf the suspension is.

less than about 4 c./s.

Advantageously,- the leaf springv is held 'aiflexed con- 7 dition between twopairs vof fiat clampingvstrips onepair being secured relatively to the'lever arm tandfthe'other pair being secured relatively to the permanent -magnet,- the .one pair of stripsbeing set at an angle to the otherpair.

The spring may be secured'between the strips -by-means of screws passing through holes. in the strips and spring,

the holes in the spring beingaof larger diameter than the" screw shafts whereby .adjustments'in the balance of-;the coil and inertia mass. may-be made. The extent t0 -.which the spring is'flexed from itsnormalflat condition is determined by the angle at-which -the;two;;pairs of stripsare set to one-another and the extent of=flexing governsjthe natural frequency of oscillation of the. coil and inertia vmass. Thus the strips mayibe set :at'the langlerequired to .givethe desired naturalffrequency. Preferably eaeh pair of strips maybe setsat the same angle to the horizontal. By single leaf spring is meant either one-.leaf spring only or two or moreleaf springs acting asr one leaf spring as in the. embodiment to-bedescribed shortly-whereithe .tWo springs 28 and 29-act in:the same-way as a single spring formed by'joining them tggetherralong their adjacent edges. The purpose-of dividing the Esingle ,leaf spring into two or more sections (so to speak)-;is merely to facilitate spring replacement.

,The inertia mass maybe provided'withza movable rider for making.adjustmentsrin thebalance of theiner tia mass while the-instrument is being usedin the held.

The instrumentmay conveniently .beihousedtin, acon- ..tainer provided with aclampi'ngdevice which prevents movement of the coiland inertia mass-when the instrumentis not inuse.

The inventionwill nowbe described by wayofexample V with reference totthe accompanying drawings in which Figure 1. isa vertical 'section through vthecentre: of-the geophone and its container,

Figure2 is a view in the direction ofarrow-A in Figure 1.of.the geophone with-the container removed, a Fig. 3 is-a-view in. sectioneof -the geophonewith the container removed, taken along the line..3-i3;of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a View inv plan of the geophon'efofv Fig. l with thecontainer removed. 3

,The geophone consists-of a permanent magnet 10 corn-v prising a central member, ilssecured to a:base plate--12 by means of a screw 13, an annular, outer memberq1-4,

a ring member 15 anda top plate "16. I-Bolts 17p passing a between plate .12 and ring member 15 .holdthe parts 12, 7' l4 and 15 together. The ring member ,15 [is provided with recesses 17a .in itseupper surface to. receive the heads of the bolts 17. .The. top plate.16.,is clamped to the ring member by.a-'C-.ring,16' throughwhich lscrews 16'? pass into threaded engagement withltheringfmem-j ber' 15. Ring member 15 forms with central member 7 11 an annular gap 18,"the axis of which"'is,vertical and-iwwhichislocated an annular. signal'coil l9. "Coil V "'19'iscarried by a} flanged tubularlattaching' fitting 'lila secured by screws 20"t0j an inertia mass 21" which, in

vantageously, the inertia mass" .21 mayl turn, is secured by. screws 22 .to lever ,armI 23. Ad:

e v ot sectional construction as shown and comprise an annular bed section 21a to which the coil attaching fitting 19a is secured, and a slotted balancing section 21b. The bed section 21a is fixedly secured to the balancing section 21b by screws (not shown). A boss 21b" on the balancing section 21b is telescopically snugly received within the tubular coil fitting 19a. Lever arm 23 and top plate 16 have flat inclined faces 24 and 25, respectively to which are secured fiat metal clamping strips 26' and 27, respectively. Flat leaf springs 28 and 29 are clamped in position as shown by means of flat metal clamping strips 30 and 31 secured by screws 32 and 33. The two leaf springs 28 and 29 act in the same way as a single leaf spring formed by joining them together along their adjacent edges. They are (so to speak) sections of a single leaf spring, as above mentioned. The springs 28 and 29 thus act as a hinge for the lever arm 23, inertia mass 21 and coil 19 and when the parts are correctly assembled coil 19 is positioned concentrically in the annular gap 18 and is free to oscillate therein in a vertical direction only. In order to allow for the position of the coil to be adjusted accurately and for adjustments which become necessary due to fatiguing of springs 28 and 29, the holes in the springs 28 and 29 through which the screws 32 and 33 pass are made larger than the shafts of the screws. Each spring is dimensioned to extend below the clamping strips 30 and 31 and is provided with a series of holes 34 so that when the upper half of a spring has become useless through fatigue the spring may be reversed and the lower half used. The portions of the springs secured between strips 26 and 30 and strips 27 and 31 are, as indicated with reference to the dash-dot lines in Fig. 1, inclined at identical angles 6 to the horizontal when the instrument has been levelled correctly for use with the axes of the coil 19 and annular gap 18 vertical. The leaf springs 28 and 29 are each flexed but each spring in its normal, unflexed, state is flat. As will be seen from Fig. 1, the leaf spring 29 there shown, is flexed, by the weight of the lever arm 23, inertia mass 21 and coil 19, between the spring part 29a secured between strips 26 and 30 and the spring part 29b secured between strips 27 and 29, from its normally flat state into a state of curvature without a point of inflection. The same condition obtains with respect to the spring 28. In this particular geophone the spring clamping strips 26, 27, 30 and 31, and therefore the portions of the springs clamped between them, have been set at 68 to the horizontal so that when the inertia mass is in equilibrium and the coil moves freely in the vertical direction, the natural period of the inertia mass oscillation is approximately 1.8 c./s. The equilibrium position of the coil and inertia mass is such that the inertia mass is horizontal and the axis of the coil vertical. In order to allow for fine adjustments in the balance of the inertia mass such as become necessary due to fatigue of the springs during use of the instrument in the field, the balancing section 21b of the inertia mass 21 is provided with a slot 35 in its upper surface in which is slidably located a rider 36 itself having a central slot 37 through which the shaft of a screw 38 passes. The slot 35 may be formed by spaced-apart guide members 210 as depicted in Figs. 2 and 4, the guide members being rcmovably secured in place as by screws 21b.

The top plate 16 has secured thereto three pillars 39 which are hollow inside and internally threaded at their upper ends to enable the geophone to be secured by means of three screws 40 to the lid 41 of a container 42 for the instrument. The lid 41 is screwed on to the container 42 by means of screws 43. A spirit level (not shown) is provided in the lid to enable the instrument in its container to be set horizontal. Leads (not shown) from the coil 19 communicate with a socket (also not shown) in the lid. The signal from the coil is conveyed to an amplifier by means of a cable which plugs into the socket. The lid is provided with a clamping plug 44 which can screw down to bear against screw 38 so as to clamp the inertia mass against a pair of studs 49 mounted on the 'C-ring 16 and prevent the inertia mass moving when the instrument is not being used. Advantageously, the bed plate 21a may be provided with a pair of lobes 21a located at diametrically opposite points, each lobe having an opening 50 adapted to receive the stud 49. Preferably, the studs 49 are provided with conical top portions adapted to enter the openings 50 of matching configuration. No centering device is necessary to maintain the coils concentric position in the annular gap as the leaf spring suspension ensures this by virtue of its stifiness in all horizontal directions. All screw joints are provided with shakeproof washers.

The expressions vertica and horizontal when used in the specification and claims to describe the position or movement of parts of the geophone are to be taken as applying to the geophone when it has been levelled for use, i. e. with the axis of the annular gap vertical.

References in the specification and claims to the setting of the clamping strips are to be taken as applying to the geophone when it has been levelled for use and when the coil, inertia mass and lever arm are balanced in their equilibrium position.

I claim:

1. A low frequency, moving coil geophone comprising a magnet having an annular magnetic airgap, an inertia mass, a coil secured to the inertia mass, and a single leaf spring which is flexed but which in its normal, unflexed, state is flat, one part of the leaf spring being secured relatively to the inertia mass and another part being secured relatively to the magnet, the leaf spring being flexed, by the weight of the inertia mass and coil, between the parts where it is secured, from a normally flat state into a state of curvature without a point of inflection, and the coil being concentrically suspended in the airgap by means of the single leaf spring in such manner that the coil has freedom of movement only in the direction of the axis of the airgap.

2. A geophone according to claim 1, in which the degree to which the leaf spring is flexed from its normal flat state is such that the natural frequency of oscillation of the coil and inertia mass is less than four cycles per second.

3. A geophone according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of leaf springs acting as a single leaf spring.

4. A moving-coil geophone according to claim 1, in which the inertia mass is provided with a movable rider for making adjustments in its balance.

5. A low frequency, moving-coil geophone comprising a permanent magnet having an annular airgap the axis of which is vertical in the position of use of the geophone, an inertia mass, a coil secured to the inertia mass, a lever arm secured at one end to the inertia mass, and a single leaf spring which in its normal, unflexed, state is flat, one part of the leaf spring being secured to the other end of the lever arm and another part being secured relatively to the magnet, the leaf spring being flexed by the weight of the lever arm, inertia mass and coil, between the parts where it is secured, from its normal flat state into a state of curvature without a point of inflection, and the coil being concentrically suspended in the airgap by means of the single leaf spring in such manner that it has freedom of movement only in the vertical direction.

6. A geophone according to claim 5, in which the degree to which the leaf spring is flexed from its normal fiat state is such that the natural frequency of oscillation of the coil and inertia mass is less than four cycles per second.

7. A moving-coil geophone according to claim 5, comprising two pairs of flat clamping strips, one pair being secured relatively to the lever arm and the other pair being secured relatively to the permanent magnet, the

7 leaf spring being secured between the clamping strips and the one pair of clamping strips being set at an angle to the other'pair so as to determine the degree to which the spring is flexed from its normal flat condition.

8.'A moving-coil, geophone according to claim 7, in-

Which pair of stripsis set at horizontal. a 9 A moving-coil geophone according'to claim 7,' in

the same angle to the which the spring is. secured between the strips by means of screwsrpassing through holes in' the spring and strips, the holes in the spring being of larger diameter than the screw shafts whereby adjustments in the balance of the;

coil and inertia mass may be made.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Brown --t- Apr 13,1954

T UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent New 2,842352 July a 1958 William Melancthon Jones It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should readas corrected below.

Column 5g line T for "'WhiCh pair" read which each pair Signed and sealed this 30th day of August 1960.

SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST SWIDER ROBERT (J. WATSON Attesting Oflicer Commissioner of Patents 

